made all, ridden over 1f out, kept on gamely inside final furlong
held up mid-division, pushed along over 3f out, weakened well over 2f out
held up towards rear, headway over 2f out, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, soon every chance, no extra towards finish
slowly into stride, soon tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, kept on to take 3rd towards finish
in rear, soon tracked leaders, lost place, ridden over 2f out, headway over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong
prominent, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
in rear, ridden over 1f out, never dangerous
tracked winner until over 1f out, lost 3rd when no extra towards finish
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon weakened
TIMOCRACY looks a standout selection here, chasing a six-timer, the last four of which have been in this sort of contest, but the main opposition is likely to be Talenti and Vacario. Since being dropped into lowly sellers, Timocracy has beaten all-comers. This is a slight step up in trip, but he stays on well and sets a decent standard for this level. Talenti's having his first flat outing since March last year, and if this was a handicap he'd be giving away around 20 pounds, rather than being in receipt of weight. Vacario's having the first flat outing of his career and recently changed yards. Celtic Dragon's been struggling in handicaps but on ratings has a couple of extra pounds in hand on Timocracy, and the yard's having a decent season. He's their only runner on the card. Andy Haynes' runner looks thrown in here, especially with Ryan Moore on board, so we'll be siding with Timocracy.
Timocracy 7-4fav (9-13) With leader, led over 4f out, kept on gamely, ridden out, won at Lingfield 1m 4f sell stks (6) pol in Jun beating Rosewood Lad (8-8) by 3/4l, 11 ran.
Alrafid (IRE) 11-1 (9-2) Steadied start, held up in rear, headway over 3f out, soon one pace, 2nd of 6, 4l behind Wicked Daze (9-12) at Lingfield 2m clm stks (6) pol in Jan.
Celtic Dragon 5-1 (9-3) Prominent, ridden over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, last of 8, 38l behind Fantino (9-3) at Newbury 1m 5f hcp 0-75 (5) gf.
Talenti (IRE) 25-1 (9-1) Tracked leader to 4f out, soon struggling and well behind over 2f out, last of 12, 25l behind Desert Sea (8-13) at Kempton 2m hcp 0-105 (2) pol in Mar '09.
Vacario (GER) 6-1 (11-2) Chased leader to 4th, chased leaders until weakened 3 out, tailed off, 5th of 8, well behind Dont Call Me Derek (10-12) at Southwell 2m 4f sell hdl (5) gd in May.
Rockson (IRE) 16-1 (8-8) Chased leaders, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong, 6th of 13, 7l behind Chosen Forever (9-4) at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (6) pol in Dec.
Brave Ghurka 33-1 (8-10) Towards rear, wide straight, stayed on one pace final 2f, never going pace to threaten leaders, 5th of 14, 9l behind Explorator (9-3) at Lingfield 1m 1f 3yo hcp 0-60 (6) fm.
Pennfield Pirate 12-1 (9-2) Mid-division, driven and outpaced 3f out, behind final 2f, 12th of 13, 31l behind Rock The Stars (9-3) at Salisbury 1m 3yo app hcp 0-65 (6) gf in Jun.
Land Of Plenty (IRE) 33-1 (7-9) Chased leading pair, driven and no impression 2f out, lost poor 3rd final furlong, 4th of 6, 16l behind Mount Athos (9-7) at Folkestone 1m 4f 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) gf.
